Chapter 127: Trouble with work

***Six weeks later**

The awkwardness between Selen and Clancy over the past few weeks was heavy and completely undeniable.

They stood near the entryway of the main house, a space that carried the freezing, rigid tension of their broken connection.

Selen looked directly at him, trying to locate a single piece of her standard composure, but her life was entirely fractured. She could tell with absolute certainty that she still felt something profound for him: the sudden, chaotic panic that had forced her to run down the corridor after him was still vibrating in her chest.

But as she searched his face, it was completely clear to her that Clancy was no longer looking at her with hope in his eyes. The warm, expectant light that had characterized his expression ever since he tracked her down in Madrid had vanished entirely.

His gaze was cool, analytical, and entirely detached, stripped of the raw vulnerability he had shown when he offered to drop his career for her. He still came around to see the kids often, maintaining his commitment to David, Daniel, and Diana’s daily routine, but emotionally, he had completely stepped across a boundary where she could no longer reach him.

He spoke in short, practical sentences, keeping the entire conversation strictly limited to the children’s administrative needs.

"The triplets are settled with their books for the afternoon," Clancy said, his voice flat, steady, and devoid of any lingering heat.

"I will ensure their routine remains consistent for the rest of the week, but we will keep our personal interactions direct and coordinated." He said.

Selen opened and closed her mouth, her speechlessness from their previous confrontation returning instantly. She wanted to tell him that her heart was deeply divided, that she had not meant to shatter his expectations, but the unyielding distance in his posture stopped her entirely.

The awkwardness was so thick that she could not even manage a basic smile. She simply nodded, watching him check his watch with an efficiency that proved he had totally given up on any future Chapter together. He was treating her like an administrative necessity to be handled step by step, completely under control but entirely devoid of intimacy.

To make matters worse, Selen’s foreign deployment was beginning to face its own major structural complications. Over the past few weeks, she had noticed that her Spanish ministry was no longer keeping up with their promises.

The comprehensive monthly stipend for specialized healthcare had been inexplicably delayed, and the administrative channels she usually relied on to coordinate Diana’s ongoing recovery checks were completely bogged down by sudden, unrequested bureaucracy.

The support framework that had originally insulated her family’s financial and medical needs was actively breaking down.

Selen sat at her desk later that afternoon, reviewing the encrypted communication logs from the terminal. Her sharp instincts immediately flagged multiple anomalies in their responses.

The senior committees in Madrid were dodging her direct inquiries regarding the Kent estate rental extension, giving her vague, polished explanations about executive logistics and budget restructuring.

She could clearly sense that they were hiding something massive from her. The strict confidentiality protocols they had insisted on during her initial arrival now felt less like a protective shield and more like a calculated configuration to keep her completely in the dark.

She attempted to establish direct contact with her primary handler at the office, but the line remained entirely silent, redirected to an automated screening queue.

Selen stood up from her desk, her spinning thoughts taking over as she walked to the window.

When Clancy walked back out to his vehicle after spending time with the kids, Selen watched him from the window, the double weight of her fractured personal life and her crumbling professional position settling heavily over her.

She wanted to run after him, to confess her fears and tell him that her safety net had completely vanished, but she could not force herself to cross that barrier. The awkwardness of her silent rejection hung permanently between them.

She was left entirely alone in the house, navigating a broken path where her employers were betraying her trust, her protectors had abandoned her home, and the only man who had offered to walk away from the world for her was finally looking at her with completely empty eyes.

She was left with the one man who began the journey with her- her friends, JK.

***Three months later: Newton**

Three months had done wonders for Newton’s head space. The heavy weight that had anchored him down at the airport terminal during his brief trip abroad was entirely gone, replaced by a renewed focus on his work back home.

He was fully healed, clear eyed, and completely poured into his professional routines without the lingering shadows of his past relationship.

When his Madrid based engineering firm was shortlisted for a major private hangar construction contract at a local aviation hub, Newton walked into the bidding process expecting a standard corporate pitch to a high profile client.

He did not know the exact parent company structure of the private airport authority hosting the bidding process, only that the client expected top-tier engineering standards for a state of the art facility and he was beyond ready to provide that.

Newton walked into the conference room of the Aviation complex, his portfolio tucked under his arm. He took his place at the table, joining his senior project manager and two structural architects.

They adjusted their laptops, organized their blueprinted schematics, and waited for the airline’s executive board to arrive.

The doors opened and a line of corporate executives walked in, led by a woman in a tailored dark blue business suit, her hair pulled back neatly, equally carrying a leather document portfolio.

Newton looked up from his notes and froze.

Clara Galileo walked toward the head of the table, projecting the exact same calm authority she had carried while wearing her captain’s uniform three months prior.

She looked up, her eyes scanning the engineering team, and stopped dead in her tracks when her gaze landed squarely on Newton.

For a fraction of a second, the strictly professional demeanor on both of their faces cracked. A mutual, undeniable look of absolute surprise flashed between them, instantly followed by a sudden wave of genuine warmth.

Newton felt a strange, lighthearted giddiness hit his chest. Clara’s lips twitched into a familiar, knowing smile, her eyes dancing with amusement as she realized exactly who was sitting across from her.